Monthly Archive for July, 2013

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One of the great side shows to the annual Pebble Beach concours on California’s Monterey Peninsula in August is the auctions. The big houses trot out some of the more interesting collector cars available in the world today and the high rollers of the collector world are there to scoop them up. On August 16, …

In the wide and deep playing field of midsize sedans, there is plenty of choice these days and therein lies the problem. Which car? The field is dominated by Toyota’s Camry and Honda’s Accord, but there are also plenty of others – Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion, Chevy Malibu, Hyundai Sonata/Kia Optima (sisters under the skin), …

In popular culture, it’s the car James Bond drove — I know, I know, block that cliché. In reality, Aston Martin is the quintessential British touring car, the over-the-road long hauler, made for cruising the autobahn at 140 mph or so. Aston Martin turned 100 years old this week and put out the word to …

One of those only-in-England items: Bentley is cobbling up a proper sport utility vehicle that will hit showrooms in about three years, according to this piece in Autoweek. We don’t know exactly what it will look like, but let’s hope they get the phrase “shooting brake” in their advertising some place. Shooting brake (or shooting …

Yikes! It’s a sports car! In this sea of sedans and utility wagons that’s inundating us, the Nissan 370Z is an anomaly. First off, it will only carry two people – unless you want to squeeze a small mortal enemy in the flatback trunklet and slam down the rear hatch. There aren’t that many relatively …

Interesting to think about Honda’s history in the U.S. In the early 1960s, it was the Nifty Thrifty Honda Fifty, the 50cc motorbike whose ads (with a nod toward the Hells Angels and their Harleys) suggested that “you meet the nicest people on a Honda.” In 1969, they revolutionized the motorcycle industry with the electric-start …

With a little help, Honda has constructed a lawn mower that would rival some cars in a short drag race. The mower, which is dubbed the Mean Mower, can hit 60 mph in less than four seconds, and Honda estimates the mower could top out at 133 mph. That could make for some very quick …

Once a year, Robert Bahre, a wealthy Maine businessman, opens up his car collection to the public. Bahre has been in the car game for several decades — he’s the former owner of a couple of auto race tracks in New Hampshire and Maine. His collection of some 60 cars, in Paris, Maine, includes a …